FOR JACK IT NEVER REINS BUT IT POURS
JACK BUTLAND is resigned to helping Stoke beat the drop after having his hopes of a top-flight return dashed.
With Pepe Reina’s loan move from AC Milan to Villa likely to be completed today, Butland is aware that his chances of being signed as cover for injured Villa keeper Tom Heaton have gone.
“Everyone knows I’ve always wanted to get back to the top level,” said Butland (above).
“The transfer window and my name seem to be closely related for quite a few years. I take great pride in it because it means I’m doing something right. But here is where I am, we’ve got a job to do and I’m looking forward to it.”
Former Liverpool keeper Reina will be in Birmingham today to agree the loan deal from Milan to the West Midlands for the rest of the season. Butland said: “Reina’s a top-class goalkeeper. He’s found himself not playing for a while and it will be good to see him back in the Premier League. He was fantastic for Liverpool and a keeper I enjoyed watching.”
Butland could have smoked a cigar during this bore draw, so little was he troubled. Even Gary Rowett, who amazingly has got Millwall to the fringe of the playoffs with only two defeats since taking over in October, admitted he is not looking forward to replaying the game on video.
Millwall defender Jake Cooper paid tribute to the job Rowett, sacked by Stoke 12 months ago, is doing. “When he came in, he never talked about us looking to survive,” he said.
“He was always talking about how high we could go.”
STOKE:
Murphy Nuhiu
JACOB MURPHY sent Leeds crashing to defeat and then warned that Sheffield Wednesday have them in their promotion sights.
Leeds surrendered top spot to West Brom after a setback that heightened fears of a repeat of last season’s implosion.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men looked a safe bet to go up for much of last term before missing out on automatic promotion – and then losing to Derby in the play-offs.
With only six points now separating Leeds from thirdplaced Brentford, nerves are beginning to jangle again at Elland Road after on-loan Newcastle winger Murphy and substitute Atdhe Nuhiu did the damage on Saturday with late goals.
The Owls’ Yorkshire derby victory leaves them 10 points behind Leeds – but Murphy insists that isn’t too much of a tall order.
He said: “We know we can finish in the top six. We’ve got a fantastic squad and we can achieve something special.
“Top two – why not? It’s there for anyone. Who wants it the most? As long as we’re there in the promotion race, that’s all anyone can ask for. But why not the top two?”
A run of three straight defeats from Boxing Day to New Year’s Day threatened to derail Wednesday’s season but they got back on track by beating Brighton in the FA Cup last week and followed up with this tremendous victory at Elland Road.
Murphy revealed that former Leeds boss Garry Monk (right) gave his Wednesday players a rocket after that worrying postChristmas slump.
“I wouldn’t say it was home truths, but sometimes a
Ref: Oliver Langford Att: 36,422 rocket up the backside is the right thing to do to try to turn the corner,” he said.
“A lot of teams know Sheffield Wednesday are a tough side to play against. We’ve emphasised that and hopefully we can take it into the fixtures coming up.” Murphy, who Newcastle signed from Norwich for £12million in July 2017, has been in and out of Monk’s side this season.
But after bagging his third goal for Wednesday, he added: “I’ve enjoyed it. I just have to keep giving him a headache to put me in that starting lineup. As long as I can keep putting in good deliveries and be an attacking threat, I’m doing my job.”
Leeds centre-back
Ben
White, on loan from Brighton and keen to stay if they are promoted to the Premier League, said: “We deserved to get something from the game on our first-half display.”
And White insists that Bielsa’s men are not about to press the panic button, even with teams behind them closing the gap.
“We have Patrick Bamford up front and he’s an unbelievable goalscorer, so there’s no worry there,” he said.
Casilla 6, Ayling 6, White 6, Cooper 6, Douglas 5 (Alioski 56, 5), Phillips 6, Costa 6 (Stevens 70), Klich 6 (Hernandez 66, 5), Dallas 5, Harrison 7, Bamford 6
Dawson 7, Urhoghide 6 (Hutchinson 85), Iorfa 5, Borner 6, Fox 6, Bannan 8, Murphy 7, Lee 5, Luongo 5 (Pelupessy 77, 6), Reach 6, Winnall 5 (Nuhiu 68, 7)
MOTM
BARRY BANNAN (SHEFFIELD WED)